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Here are some more general test shots taken with the Olympus SZ-20 – in effect a ‘best of’ – to give an idea of performance when it comes to image quality, dynamic range, colour rendition and the focal range provided.

Shot at maximum zoom when using the camera handheld, again this is a little softer than we might have liked but when it’s the case of getting that spur of the moment shot or losing it, we’re prepared to live with that

With two or three goes when shooting handheld at maximum telephoto you can strike lucky however – as with this compliantly posing duck. Again it could be sharper still, but having said that the degree of detail captured here isn’t bad at all

Here’s an example of the result of applying one of Olympus’ Magic Filters – in this instance ‘Drawing’, which creates an etching like appearance. For us this seemed to work best for subjects that inherently possessed a lot of detail (here a shadow falling over a grassy lawn), otherwise it appeared as if someone had been at work with an eraser on sections of our image

Choose your subject carefully and the magic filters can provide subtle enhancements to your subject matter without lending it an unrealistic appearance. Here pop art was selected to boost the natural colours, an effect that can otherwise at times lead to a rather garish look